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Like Individuals, Graduate Programs Vary!
One of the most daunting tasks in applying to graduate programs is choosing the correct programs to apply to. Programs differ on a wide range of dimensions, and it can be overwhelming to try to decide which program is best for each applicant. We discuss seven major dimensions on which programs differ. You may scroll down to view these dimensions or you may click on the links below to go to a particular section:
Approach ◊ Content ◊ Culture ◊ Funding Opportunities ◊ Full-time/Part-time ◊ Transfer Credits ◊ Reputation
A. Programs differ in terms of their approach: specialization vs. interdisciplinary approaches 1. Some programs emphasize specialization in course content and research, requiring students’ research and coursework be in one particular area (e.g., cognitive, socio-emotional, neuroscience, etc). Such programs tend to view specialization as a key component to developing a scientist. 2. Other programs emphasize an interdisciplinary focus, which urges students’ research and/or coursework to be in multiple subfields of psychology (e.g. across cognitive, socio-emotional, neuroscience domains) or outside psychology (e.g., linguistics, philosophy). Such programs tend to view the interdisciplinary focus as a key component to developing scientists capable of working and developing a unified scientific field. 3. Note, programs may not specifically state that they emphasize specialization or multidisciplinary nature, but this can be found in the required coursework of the program. Answer these questions when looking at programs to help identify which are more specialized and which are more interdisciplinary: Do the programs define what courses a student will take based on their designated interests (i.e., if you have a cognitive focus, are you only allowed/encouraged to take coursework in the cognitive domain)? Do the programs have a general listing of requirements that can be satisfied by multiple courses? Do programs have required courses across specified content areas (e.g., satisfy coursework in cognitive-, socioemotional-, neuroscience- domains)?
B. Programs differ in terms of content When reviewing the content of programs, applicants will see programs that differ in emphasis and research focus. The content of a program may be found by looking at the goal statement or theoretical approach statement of the program, the program/course requirements, professor research interests, and research laboratories. Below is a list of items in which programs will differ: 1. Applied aspects of developmental psychology. Some programs may have coursework in intervention programs, training, assessment or evaluation, or even internships while some programs may not have these at all. This also relates to the difference between Applied Developmental Psychology and Developmental Psychology/Science. Those in the academic realm will typically have program content focused on research and theory. If you are sure that you wish to work in the applied field, then you should focus on these forms of programs. If you are unsure, it may be in your best interest to look at academically-focused programs, which provides you with a strong theoretical basis for research or applied jobs. 2. Specific age groups. Some programs may emphasize one age group over the others in their coursework, research, or laboratories. For example, there may be more courses or research interest in adolescence than infancy or adulthood. If you wish to focus on one particular age group in your graduate studies and research, then you should find programs that emphasize that age group or allow you to focus on one particular age group. If you want to study multiple age groups, then you should apply to programs that focus on development across the life span. 3. Specific course topics. Coursework will vary across programs. The majority of programs will have the same core courses (e.g., developmental psychology, graduate level statistics, etc). However, programs will drastically differ in terms of topical courses (e.g., emotional development in infancy, language acquisition, neuroscience of learning, child psychopathology, SEM statistics, etc). Smaller programs may offer fewer classes and fewer choices in coursework while larger programs (those in departments with multiple subfields of psychology or have a larger number of faculty) will have more course offerings. In addition, coursework may be associated with professors’ areas of expertise or research interest. This is beneficial if you choose a program based on your research interests with particular faculty members; if you do not, you may not be able to take courses in areas in which you were initially interested . 4. Specific research interests. Each program will differ drastically in terms of professors’ research interests. a) Typically, professors will have very specific research interests, meaning no two programs will be alike. When applying to programs, you are not only applying to the program itself, but you are applying to work in a particular research area with a professor(s). Realize that much of your time in a graduate program will be spent doing research with the professor you mentioned in your personal statement. Thus, one of your first methods of narrowing down programs is to define your personal research interests and then look at professors’ research interests across all schools (all schools will list a professor’s research interests and recent publications). For instance, if you wish to study development of theory of mind, go through all developmental psychology programs looking for research interest and publications on theory of mind. b) In addition, you may wish to look at the faculty’s rate of publication, dates of professional presentations, and other professional duties (e.g., editors of journals). This will indicate how active they are in their research area as well as in the field itself. c) Lastly, realize that you will be mentored by the faculty member with whom you will be conducting research. Newer faculty members may be more likely to be present in the laboratory while more advanced faculty members may not. This may also influence how much creative input you will have in terms of research projects. For example, more senior level faculty may be more likely to allow you to pursue your own research projects in their lab while the newer faculty members may be focused on getting their own research published to develop their name in the field as well as gain tenure. Similarly, more senior faculty members may have more contacts in the field, while more junior faculty may have more time to devote exclusively to you and the research project you are working on. The best programs may have a mix of both senior and junior faculty members, allowing you the opportunity to benefit from both.
C. Programs differ in terms of their Culture: Cool vs. Warm Academic Environments In terms of culture, we mean the way the program views itself, its graduate students, and the outside world… and how these interrelate. This is a difficult concept to define, but it is more easily understood when it is experienced or seen. 1. Cool vs. Warm Academic Environments. Some programs are very open to students and create a collegial, learning environment. Faculty focus not only on research, but on helping students meet their personal professional goals. There is open, friendly dialog between faculty and students. Faculty and students are very open with one another, sharing ideas and interests. Grad students may be encouraged to explore their research interests by working with multiple faculty members. In other programs, it may be a very strict, competitive environment, in which graduate students are there to work on the research interests of the specified professor (for the entire program). In this environment, there may be little or no collaboration and graduate students are assumed to know their own path toward their goals. There may be very little dialog between faculty and students. This is very important to consider because some individuals thrive in one particular environment over another (i.e., some students are motivated by highly competitive environment while others are motivated by a collaborative atmosphere). 2. Not only should you examine the relation between the faculty and students, you should also examine the relations among the faculty members and among the students. Faculty may be open or closed to one another, in that they may be collaborative and/or supportive of each other’s research, or they may keep to their own. Similarly, graduate students may be open or closed to one another. This may be related to research as well as personal relations. 3. What about professional focus? Some students may be very research focused while others focus on a particular job/career. If you have a particular focus (research or job-related), and find yourself interviewing at a program where the graduate students differ from your own focus, know that this will impact your own graduate school career. 4. Of course culture—especially social culture—will not be specified on a website or program review. The best bet is to see if you can ‘read between the lines’ in terms of how they present their graduate students, faculty, and program. When looking at programs, specifically look at their websites. Look for research collaborations, how they portray their graduate students as well as faculty. Further, this will be best seen when you visit a program for interviews. See how faculty and current students, faculty and faculty, and students and students relate. Is it more professional? Is it more interpersonal? Does the atmosphere seem very academically focused or more laid back? How do graduate students talk about the program as well as their colleagues? 5. A side note: some programs only accept one or two students per year while others accept more. Some programs may accept students on a biyearly basis. This may be important if you are an individual who has difficulty acclimating to a new program when you are the only student. On the other hand, you may be the kind of person who enjoys being an “only” student. Don’t let lack of money get in the way of your graduate education. Unlike undergraduate training programs and the post-baccalaureate programs in law and medicine, many graduate programs in Developmental Psychology provide funding for students while they are in graduate school. There are two types of funding that programs provide – funding to pay tuition costs and funding to pay living costs, often called “stipends”. Many programs provide both tuition costs and stipends to full time students. Sometimes students are eligible for fellowships which don’t require specific teaching or research assistantships but which pay for both tuition costs and living costs. Many graduate programs provide full time students with research and/or teaching assistantships. This typically means graduate courses will be paid for by the department or university. In return, graduate students work a certain number hours per week as a teaching assistant or research assistant (where they will receive a monthly stipend for their work). Programs will differ on the amount of stipend they offer. One factor to consider is the cost of living in the area. While one program in a large city may offer a slightly larger stipend than one in a more suburban city, the cost of living and taxes may reduce the ‘take home pay.’ Some programs may not be able to offer such funding opportunities, requiring graduate students to fund their own studies through outside scholarships, student loans, or employment. There are also other funding opportunities, such as fellowships or scholarships in the Department, the University, and outside the university. Applicants should also apply for outside funding sources in case the program they desire cannot fund them. In addition, some programs pay for student health insurance and all student fees issued by the university while others only cover a proportion of expenses. These are all factors you should examine when applying to programs. If money is an issue for you, ask about the possibility of receiving fellowships, stipends, and yes, even travel stipends. E. Programs Differ in Full-time vs. part-time Studies The majority of programs will be on a full-time basis. There are some part-time programs. When deciding on a program, consider your current and future goals, in terms of profession, family, time lines, etc. Generally, only full time programs offer financial support. F. Programs Differ in the number of Allowable Transfer Credits For those applying to doctoral programs who have already received a Master's degree, one factor you may want to consider is the number of transfer credits that will be accepted by the program. If time in the program is a major consideration for you, then you may evaluate programs based on this criterion. G. Reputation. How can you tell what is a high ranking program? Programs vary in reputation based on professional criteria. Some systems rank programs on a single criterion (i.e. reputation); others use a variety of different criteria and then combine these different rankings into one composite score. Programs are then rank ordered based on their composite score. Many program factors can be used for ranking purposes. Some common factors are: program reputation ranked by faculty, productivity of faculty (i.e. number of publications or professional presentations per year), number of obtained grants, representation of faculty on editorial boards of primary journals for developmental scholars, number of senior level faculty, or placement of recent grad students in assistant professor positions. While the composite ranking may not be as important, the criteria used for these rankings may affect you in your graduate career. How? Through (1) research experience with well-published faculty, (2) more opportunities to spend on research (e.g., grant funded research), (3) working with professors who have experience with journal criteria (e.g., editors), (4) professional networking opportunities, (5) job opportunities after graduate school, and many more. The ranking criteria are very important to consider. WHY? While everyone would like to get into a ‘highly ranked’ program, realize that not all rankings are equal and some rankings may be based on factors that are not important to you. We explore this in detail in the next section.
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